Australian country music pirate arrested

On October 10th, the Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) arm of the ARIA worked with the New South Wales Police to carry out a raid on the home of an illegal trader of country music in Kelso near Bathurst. The raid led to the seizure of about 2,000 pirate CDs, extensive burning equipment, a computer and printing equipment. The male trader was allegedly selling burnt country music CDs to unsuspecting market goers at the Bathurst and Orange markets.

MIPI received tips from members of the public that had bought the counterfeit products unknowingly and attempted to contact the market operator. However, the market operator refused to take any steps to identify the trader of the pirate CDs and so MIPI traced the man to an address at Kelso near Bathurst. The matter was referred to the Chifley Target Action Group of the NSW Police who acted promptly to apply and execute the search warrant.

"Market operators need to take responsibility for the sale of pirate music at their markets, particularly in circumstances such as this where it has been brought to their immediate attention. It's not okay to turn a blind eye to illegal conduct that denies artists and songwriters the income they deserve and allows pirates to profit from other people's hard work,"Sabiene Heindl, General Manager of MIPI said.

Penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and 5 years imprisonment per offense. The criminal case against the pirate trader is expected to be heard in Court over the next couple of months.